Cracking the Shell
by Allysien
Summary: Magus tries to summon Lavos to his castle, but instead gets something he never expected. A young girl. My first fanfic.. ever! so please R&R Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own, i just write :)

Cracking the Shell

Chapter 1

Darcy's day hadn't gotten off to a great start. Because of the earthquake last night, the pipes in her basement had burst, and ruined all her clothes that she had stored down there. She was stuck wearing an old ratty T-shirt, and the same pair of jeans she had on for the past week. Her little brother mauled her homework, she had forgotten her launch, and hadn't studied for today's test. It was a miracle she had remembered her bookbag. "It's not fair!" complained Darcy to herself. "None of this would have happened if my parents would have just moved to Truce City like nice, normal people and not stayed in this antique home! Its 1999, for God's sakes!" the girl was known to say what she was thinking, wether anyone could hear her or not. It was a habit of hers that in her 17 years on this planet, no one had been able to break her off of.

She just clasped the pendant that she wore and moaned "Why can't the world just swallow me up?..". At that moment the ground started to shake, and she suspected that The Powers That Be had finally started listening to her. And they certainly picked a crappy time to do so. Suddenly, the earth openend up, and a huge, viciously spiked creature emerged.

"Oh..My...God..." muttered Darcy, as she stood in awe of the thing. The world was ending, and she had a front row seat to the spectacle.

"W...w...what IS that thing?" she asked no one in particular, but the only answer she received was a blood-curdling scream from the monster in front of her. Darcy would have run away, but the fear prevented her legs from moving. Then, as another unexpected surprise, the pendant around her neck started to glow brilliantly! Blinded, she backed up, not noticing the blue portal that loomed behind her..


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Darcy backed into the portal and went half-flying, half-falling into time and space. Just when she had almost gotten used to the feeling and the psychadellic surroundings, it all faded to black, and she made a very undignified crash-landing on to a very hard marble floor. Her bookbag arrived a few seconds later, and landed on her head. She let out a small exclamation of pain, then looked up from where she was sprawled. She saw a man with long blue hair and sharply pointed ears, who looked rather pissed off.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!!!" He raved. "Is this some kind of sick cosmic joke? Is EVERYTHING I do destined to be fucked up?! How the HELL could I have summoned some stupid GIRL instead of Lavos?" He clenched his fists, and continued "I calculated the eruption time correctly! I KNOW IT! What went wrong?!" He continued to curse and wave at the air.

Against her better judgement, Darcy said "Um, excuse me Mister, uh, whoever you are, I see that you're a bit frustrated right now, but could you tell me where I am?"

The man gave her a look that could melt lead, and said "It's not a matter of where you are but when, girl!" He turned away from her, picked up a scythe that was lying nearby, and continued. "If you MUST know, this is the year 600. You may call me Magus."

"Huh...? Riiight...Really, where am I?" she said, not believing a word of it. "You can't possibly be Magus! He bit it good 1400 years ago, and besides, you don't look a THING like the pictures in my history books.." She would have continued, but the man named Magus was giving her and evil glare that shut her up immediately.

"Yessir! If you say it's so, then it must be!" Darcy replied, not really convinced. But she was smart enough not to dissagree with the angry guy in front of her. "But...uh, one more question, Mr. Magus. What is this, uh...Lavos that you were talking about? Cuz, if it was really..." said Darcy uncertainly.

"You talk alot girl. I don't like people who talk alot. Perhaps I should kill you now, and relieve us BOTH of this misery!" shouted Magus, holding the blade of his scythe so close to Darcy's throat she could feel the cold metal graze her skin.

Blood trickled down her neck.Darcy panicked. This man obviously didn't give a crap about her life. She wasn't very good at handling tense situations like these, so she did the only thing she could: She cried, hoping to stir some pity in Magus's heart. It was a last-digit attempt to save herself, so she put all the emotion she could into it. But as she did this, the unexpected happened again! The pendant around her neck started to glow, nearly as bright as the first time!

Magus dropped his scythe and stared at Darcy in amazement. "Y..your pendant, the glow...it...its Dreamstone, like Schala's!! How.."Darcy was just as surprised as he was, if not more, and she was unable to say anything. She just sat there, bathed in the brilliant red light.Magus, who obviously had a very short temper, picked up Darcy by the collar of her shirt and shook her while shouting "TELL ME!! I must know!! HOW?"

"I don't know!! Stop shaking me...!!" Darcy gasped. "...Can't tell you if I... can't... breathe.."

He dropped her on the floor, and said "You MUST know!!! How can you not?!"

Fearfully, Darcy said "...Look, the only...only t..time before this that this happened was about a minute ago b...before you brought me here..."

He paused for a moment to think, and then said to himself "That's it! I forcused on the wrong source of energy!" Magus was very excited, but he continued the questioning. "Tell me girl, where did you get this pendant? And tell me now, for I am not a patient man!"

That was an easy question. "I got it from my Granny, before she died. She s...said that it was handed down through the family." said Darcy nervously.

He grabbed her by the chin, and stared at her while chanting some sort of magic spell. Darcy felt like he was staring into her soul, her very being. And he clutched her face hard enough to cause pain. She felt rather uncomfortable. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, he released Darcy and said in disgust, "Damn! Not a drop of Schala's blood in her... they must have found it somewhere." He paused, regaining his composure. "Give it to me, girl! It's rightfully mine!"

"NO! Never!! Why should I? It's MINE! Where do you get off saying it's yours?!" answered Darcy.

He sighed, now quite annoyed, and said "It originally belonged to MY sister. Is THAT reason enough for you? NOW HAND IT OVER!!!"

Darcy said "Well, it's been more than 1400 years, and maybe more, so you've lost all right to it. I am NOT giving it up!!" and gave Magus a defiant look.

"Fine. You made your choice." he said, his voice much too calm for Darcy's liking. "Thus will I make mine." Then he began to chant the words to a spell, and a black energy began to gather around him. "If you won't give it to me, I'll simply kill you and take it!". Then he completed the incantion, and attacked her with DarkMatter.

Darcy screamed, and covered her face in a futile attempt to save defend herself. But yet again, the pendant reacted. It produced a force-field that protected her from Magus's assult. When it had ceased, nothing but the floor around Darcy was harmed.

Magus was both stunned and irritated. "That stupid pendant won't ALLOW me to kill you!" Clenching his fists, he said "I'll just do what I should have done in the begining!". Then he seized Darcy, and tried to rip the pendant off of her. It reacted a third time by creating a burst of energy that severly burned his right hand, ripping through the glove. Magus cried out and released Darcy, cursing violently all the way.

Darcy was about to save the poor guy all the trouble, and just give him the object of his desires, but a thought came to her. The pendant was the only hope to stay alive here. If she gave it way, there would be nothing to keep Magus from disposing of her. This WAS the screwball she read about in history class. That display of fireworks proved it. The evil leader of an army of monsters. An indiscriminate killer. Not a compassionate, kind man. She was silent for a bit, but finally said, out of politeness "I'm really sorry, Magus. I have no control over the pendant... Are you alright? I know first aid..."

"Fine! I'm fine! I don't need your help!" he snapped.

Darcy sighed. She knew other people who were like this. Too proud to admit when they needed help. "Have it your way." she told him. "It's your hand." Magus turned away from her, ripped off a piece of his cape, and used it as a bandage. "So..." she said cautiously. "You aren't going to send me back home, are you?"

He looked at her and said "Oh, sure, I'll send you back home! I'll even throw you a going-away party if you want! OF COURSE I'M NOT GOING TO SEND YOU BACK!!!" Darcy backed away from him by a few more feet after that outburst. He took a breath, gritted his teeth, and said "Besides, it would be a death sentence to do so. The power of Lavos is unimaginable, and as much as i despise you, no one, even YOU, deserves to experience it." He paused, apparently lost in his own thoughts. "You'll stay. Since you won't give me the pendant, and I can't kill you, I'll simply keep you here with me. I may need you later." he told her.

"You mean stay in this dump? Do I even have a choice?" asked Darcy.

"No." he said. Then with an evil smile "But if you insist, I can use you as the human sacrifice for my next summoning."

Wide eyed, she replied "I bet it's a nice place once you get used to it..." She sighed "Since I may be here a while, you should know my name. It's Darcy."

"Fine." Magus cleared his throat and bellowed "OZZIE! Get you lazy green ass in here!!!"

A fat reptile-like creature appeared from a blur of magic, bowed, and said "Yes, Sir Magus? What may I do for you?" He paused, looked at Darcy and said "Say, is THIS the mighty Lavos or some kind of mistake?"

"Neither you idiot! Ozzie I want you to show my guest," he paused, then spat out "Darcy, to a room." said Magus.

"As you wish, Sir Magus." said Ozzie, as he took Darcy roughly by the arm. Then they both vanished.

(A/N: This chapter is a bit longer than the first. I'm going to try to keep them at a good lenght.)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

They reappeared in a chamber theat looked more like a prison cell then anything else. The bed was no more than a rough wooden board covered by a few soiled sheets. A crude bench rested in the corner, and a cracked mirror hung on the wall. Other than that, the room was bare.

"The presidential suite, this ain't.." mumbled Darcy.

Ozzie laughed and said "Enjoy your stay, _Princess_!". Then, he vanished.

Darcy sat down on her 'bed', and wondered who the previous occupant of this room was. whoever, or whatever, as the case may have been, probably never cleaned it. The stench in there was almost unbearable! She made a mental note to hose the place down next chance she got.

Just then, a diablos walked in, and handed her a dish full of some sort of slop. It resembled eyeballs in brown sauce. "Soup's on! I I'm on special orders frum Magus to give ya the good stuff. Ya better eat it before it eats you." it said.

Darcy felt nautious. If this was the good stuff, she would hate to see the bad. She told the little monster "No thanks...I'm not hungry"

"Suit yer'self." said the diablos, then he swallowed the swill in one gulp. "Not often I git this good a meal."

That clinched it. Her stomach couldn't take it anymore. Darcy ran to the corner of the room, held her hair back, and threw up. The diablos, who looked genuinely sorry, wiped the dribblings of his meal off his face, patted Darcy on the back and said to her "Didn't think you'd find that so revolting... guess yer only human." Darcy had stopped tossing her cookies by now, and she sat down on the bench. "I..i'ts alright. Who does the cooking around here, anyway, Mr..."

"The name's Frik." said the little guy. "And as fur the chef, yer looking at him, sweetie. The mystics like my cooking fine, but I've never had a chance to try it on a human.".

"Live and learn..." she moaned. "My names Darcy. And...that's alright. I bet you can cook pretty good, Frik"

Frik shrugged. "S'allright. But would ya mind telling me about yer'sel? Wha'sa nice human like you doin' here, Darcy?" he asked.

Darcy shook out her red hair, and said "This is gonna sound strange, but that guy Magus brought me here through some kind of time portal. I'm from about 1400 years into the future."

"Oh, so 'e's finally gettin' somewhere!" exclaimed Frik.

"Getting somewhere?" asked Darcy.

"Yeah. 'e's been summonin' up stuff for weeks now." said Frik. "So far all 'e got was a few trees, someones garbage, and a cow." Frik laughed and said "We ate good that night!"

Darcy was tempted to ask if Frik meant when they got the garbage or the cow, but she didn't want to risk losing her only friend here. "So you mean he's getting warmer?" she asked instead.

"Yup. 'e's gettin' closer to his goal every time, or at least so I 'ear." said Frik.

"And his goal is to summon... Lavos, right?" asked Darcy.

"Yeah. Hey how didja know that?"

"He was talking about it in front of me." she said.

"I see..." mumbled Frik. "So 'e didn't tell ya directly? 'e never talks to anyone unless 'e really has to, especially humans. He's meaner than me fathen 'n mother were, combined!"

"He was mean, but, for a monent, i could have sworn he sounded, well...sad." She told Frik. Then she blinked, and said "You mean he's not human?"

"As human as me, sweetie." Frik replied. He then asked, teasing, "Ya don't 'ave any plans for 'im, do ya?" Darcy gave him a disgusted look, and was about to say something, but Frik paused and sniffed the air. "Sorry, sweetie. Gotta go. I forgot I had bead bakin'. Hope ya like it crispy!". He dashed out the door, leaving Darcy alone in her room

Sighing and laying down on her bed, she thought about the events of the past little while. Was this time trip a curse, or a blessing saving her from that...creature? Or was it a case of 'Out of the frying pan, into the fire'? Magus certainly wasn't her idea of a nice guy. He probably liked to kill people simply for the fun of it. Darcy was both physically and mentally exhausted, so she slept.

She was awoken in the middle of the night by a cranky Naga-ette who was apparently the chief of staff around here. "No more sleeping, you lazy ass! If you're staying here, you gotta pull your weight!!" she screeched.

Darcy rubbed her eyes, and mumbled "But it's the middle of the night!"

"The perfect time for cleaning, you worthless twit! NOW MOVE!" yelled the Naga-ette as ashe shot a mop at Darcy, which lodged itself in the wall. A STONE wall. Darcy did as she was told. She moved. She leapt out of the bed, shook out her sheet and said "Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Now, I'm Lizz, and I'M in charge here, got it?" shouted Lizz. Dracy nodded. "FIRST thing you're gonna do is clean out the fireplaces. All of them on this floor. You'll find the stuff you need in the storage room down the hall. now GET CRACKIN'!!" Since she had finished her tirade, Lizz smacked Darcy out of her room with her tail, and slammed the door.

Darcy shook her head, recovering from the shock that she just recieved. "Well, how bad could it be?" she wondered. "How many fireplaces could this floor have?" One of Darcy's many chores back home was cleaning out the fireplace, and she was pretty good at it. She walked down to the end of the hall, and picked up equipment.

Amost 6 hours later and 9 fireplaces, she was wondering why she was SO stupid to assume that a huge castle wouldn't have many fireplaces. She was covered from head-to-toe with soot, and was so tired and sure she was going to keel over. "Why don't I just stand up for myself?" she asked out loud. "Why?" she answered. "Because you'll get the shit beat out of you if you do." She went back to cleaning.

It had been a long day for Magus. He had made another sttempt to summon Lavos, and failed yet again. And what had he gotten instead? An irritating, stubborn, teenage girl. "I must find a way to get that pendant!" he mused to himself. "It could be the tool that i need!" he sighed and muttered "Schala..." He shook his head. He was tired. and his hand was sore. He transported himself to his room, and sat down on his bed. "I'll have my revenge someday, Lavos." he thought to himself as he ran his good hand though his hair. "That someday will just have to wait." Removing his boots, cape, and armor, he stood up in front of the fireplace, and took off his shirt. He then realized that he could stand to bathe. He was about ready to call a servant in to draw a bath, when he felt a nudge behind him...

She felt she had done a good enough job, so Darcy picked up her cleaning supplies and started to back out of the fireplace. She was nearly out when she bumped into someone and sent the both of them tumbling to the ground. They rolled around on the floor for a bit, the both of them cursing violently, until they managed to separate themselves. Darcy looked up, and almost had a heart attack. She had bumped into Magus, and, putting two and two together, this must be his room!

"You... I... oh, er...uh..." She was so shocked she was having a hard time with even simple words, and the fact that Magus wasn't wearing a shirt made it harder to concentrate. He had a VERY good muscle tone, Darcy couldn't deny that. And despite his pale skin and red eyes, he was quite attractive. At least as evil, inhuman monsters come.

Magus, however, was not tongue-tied. He was about to start another screaming fit, but the sight of Darcy covered with a thick coat of soot was so hilarious that he couldn't help but crack up laughing! "W..what (hahaha) the h..hell are (haha) you doing...(hahahahahahaha) in..." but he couldn't finish his sentence. He colapsed on the floor, doubled over in laughter. His face was turning an interesting shade of purplish-red. "G..g (hahaha) get out! (hahahahaha) GO! Just...just go(hahahaha) go to y...y...y.. (hahahahahaha) your room...!" he finally managed to say, which is quite an accomplishment when your hand is over your mouth.

Surprised, Darcy headed for the door of his room. Just before she left, Darcy asked "Say, do you think there's any way I can take a bath?"

He just waved his hand to indicate that she should go away, so she did. She stood outside the door, taking it all in, when a hench passed by. He stopped outside the door, heard the racket coming from Magus's room and looked at Darcy with a suggestive smile.

"Hey, I didn't have anything to do with it!" said Darcy. "Well, at least not in the way you think..."

The hench snorted and walked off.

(A/N: Another chapter! it was origionally suppose to end at Darcy going to sleep for the night, but it seemed so short... so I added more to it to make it longer! I love writting :) Next chapter will be up in a day or so. ENJOY!)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She was still walking around with soot all over her the next two days. Even though she had managed to shake the worst of it out of her hair, and had done a respectable job of cleaning up her face and arms, Darcy still looked like someone had dragged her through an ash pile. Since she couldn't find a single place on her entire body that didn't have soot on it, she decided that it was time to take some action. She had somehow managed to finish Lizz's idea of 'light' chores, so she took off to lodge a complaint with Magus.

It was just a short walk down the hall to his room, and Darcy didn't have much time to think of something good to say. She was nervous. "I'll just wing it.." she thought to herself. She gathered up all the courage that she had, and knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked a little louder. Still nothing. "Maybe he's not there. Better check." Darcy thought. She opened up the door a crack, and peeked inside. Magus was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, reading a book that rested in his lap. His boots, cape and armor rested on his bed, and he was wearing a loose shirt. Darcy debated if she should enter. Is it worth the risk of starting up a temper tantrum that would be be death of her? Then she realized that no matter how bad it got, the pendant would keep her safe... probably. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Magus heard her entering his room and looked up from his book. "What are you doing here?" he said, scowling

"Sir, I, er, just wanted to ask if, uh..." Darcy said, stumbling over the words. She was never good with speaking to other people.

Magus was growing more and more impatient with each passing second. He stood up from seat and said "Out with it, girl! I haven't got all day. I never asked you in here the first place!"

Darcy took a deep breath, and continued, "Sorry Sir, I'm just not very good talking to other people, and you're a pretty intimidating person, and..."

He raised his right hand and struck Darcy across the face, forgetting about his injury. As Darcy reared back in pain, so did Magus.

Darcy, ignoring the burning red mark on her cheek, went over to where Magus stood, holding his hand and swearing. "Here, let me look at it. It was my fault to being with." she offered. Magus scowled, but she insisted. "Look, I know what I'm doing. If that's not taken care of, it might become infected. Then were would you be?"

Magus silently agreed, probably just to shut her up. He sat back down in his chair, and held his hand out for Darcy to examine.

She peeled off the torn piece of cape that he had used as a bandage, and Magus grimaced in pain. Then she examined his hand. It was raw, red, and covered with several festering blisters. Bits of leather from his glove were melded with his skin. "This is bad.." she muttered to herself. "Well, the infection ship has sailed. Did you even bother to wash it?" she asked him.

Magus starred at her coldly, and said "You're wasting my time."

Darcy nodded. "You didn't wash it. Doesn't matter, really." she paused and said "I'll need antiseptic of some kind, a small knife, and some clean cloth." she looked at Magus and said jokingly "Any possible way I can get those things, or do you like your hand the way it is?"

He glared at her and said "I don't need someone to tend to my hand, and especially not you! It's perfectly fine."

Darcy, her confidence growing, replied "It's NOT perfectly fine! It should be tended to, or it may have to be amputated! Now is not the time to be a stubborn ass!" She sat down on the floor and declaired "I am NOT leaving until you let me help."

Magus cursed, and stared at Darcy in disgust. He stood up and muttered a few words. A small black ball of energy formed in his good hand, and it took flight and speeded out the door. Magus sat back down. About a minute later, a mud imp ran through the door and placed a tray with the items Darcy requested on a table that rested nearby. Before it left, it paused and looked at Darcy. Then it scooted out the door, giggling all the way.

"Damn gossip-crazed beasts." cursed Magus under his breath. "There, are you happy?" he said.

"Anyway, i won't lie." Darcy said, picking up the knife and a piece of cloth, "This is going to hurt a whole lot, mostly because I'll have to remove the leather from your hand." Then she gently pried open Magus's hand, which he held closed.

All of Magus's macho exterior went into hiding. Although he could handel pain fine during a battle, he was definitely not one for all the other kinds. Besides, the sight of Darcy weilding a knife was not a soothing one. "No. I am not going to have YOU slicing at my hand!" he said. Tearing his hand away.

Darcy gave him the coldest stare she could manage, pinned down his arm and said to him "Are you a man or a mouse? Come on, you''re a big boy. You can handle it."

She played to his one weakness: his pride. Swallowing hard, he said "Alright...are you sure you know what you're doing...?"

Darcy said "Of course. Don't worry about it. I was planning on being a doctor before you brought me here. I'm good at this sort of thing." she smiled and then said "Just do what my friend Illyria says: Think Happy Thoughts." she laughed quietly to herself. "Now close your eyes..."

Pain!! Magus felt excruciating pain shooting through his arm. The muscles in his hand twitched wildly, and Darcy almost lost her grip.

"There. The biggest piece is out." Darcy said with a sense of accomplishment. "There's only four more pieces left large enough to remove." she told him.

Magus turned even paler than usual and whimpered "Four..."

After about 10 minutes (and a whole lot of crying and swearing on Magus's part) His hand was cleaned and bandaged. "Well, you should be ok." said Darcy. "Just be sure to keep it clean." Then she picked herself up and headed for the door.

"Wait." said Magus, holding Darcy back. "Before you started torturing me, you were going to ask me something."

"I was?" Darcy said, confused. "Oh, yeah, I wanted to know if I could take a bath...well, can I?" she asked.

Magus gave her an exasperated look and said "A bath?! All that, and you just wanted a BATH?!?!?" He was about ready to strike her again, but the dull, throbbing pain in his hand served as a reminder of what happened the first time. He paused for a moment. He could take advantage of that situation. "Fine. You can take one in the morning. My 'associates' will be retired for the day, so they won't give you any trouble." he turned away from her and said "It's the tenth door from the right of your room. Now leave." Darcy thanked Magus, and headed on her way, quite glad to have gotten what she wanted.

She headed out the door. Magus thought to himself, "I should thank her. If it wasn't for her vanity, I would never have had this idea!" He laughed quietly.

(A/N Another chappie down :) stay tunned for the next one. you're gonna love it! Magus-vs-Darcy!)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Darcy was up with the sun the next morning, eager to clean herself up. She walked down the hall, and entered the chamber. She was stunned! The room wasn't old and icky like hers. Rather, the floor was covered with marble tiles, a mirrow framed with silver and ivory hung on the wall, and there was a lovely porcelain tub, filled with hot water.

"Wow... This guy has good taste." thought Darcy. Towels had even been left out for her. She looked at the tub. "Very nice.. Isn't this in the Toma Memorial Museum?" It looked very much like the one she had seen there during a class field trip last year. Except the one she saw was really worn out. "Well, as long as it works now." Darcy said as she undid her pigtails and stripped off her grungy clothes. She debated for a moment about taking off the pendant, and figured that Magus wouldn't think of spying on her while she took a bath, so he'd never know. She removed it and stepped into the tub.

Darcy didn't remember the last time a bath had felt so good. She dipped her head under the water, and let the ashes soak out of her hair. She came back up to the surface, and sighed. Her long red hair hung down in wet starnds. She reached for a bottle of what seemed like shampoo, when a swirl of black energy formed in the room. Darcy dropped the bottle in surprise, and it shattered on the floor. Magus materialized from the swirl, and made a path to where Darcy had placed the pendant.

Darcy panicked even more than when Magus had the scythe at her throat. But the majority of the panic had to do with the fact that he was spying on her, while she was bathing. She let out a cry of fear, surprise and anger. Then, involuntarily, she aimed her arm at Magus, and screamed "YOU PIG!!!" at the top of her lungs. As she did that, an overwhelming blast of wind picked up Magus and threw him into the lovely mirror, craking it right in two. Magus was stunned, but not seriously hurt.

Darcy stared in amazement at what she had done, but she had enough presence of mind left to jump out of the tub and wrap a towel around herself. Magus had just started to stand up, but she pointed at him again, focusing all her rage, and plastered him against the wass. Darcy shouted "Magus, if you DARE do ANYTHING like that again, I swear I will kill you!" Then she picked the pendant up, and with shaking hands put it on.

Magus was still reeling from the shock of Darcy's attack. The whole world was spinning, and he couldn't see straight. He stood up as well as he could, and said with mock fear "You'll kill me?" He smirked and said "I doubt that. If it weren't for that damn pendant, I could kill YOU with a single gesture!"

She was silent for a moment, disturbed by that remark, but then Darcy said "Get out of here you disgusting pervert! I don't CARE how powerful you are! It's still no excuse to do that!!! Get out, get out, get out, GET OUT!!!!!"

Magus wasn't paying much attention to what Darcy was saying. He was preoccupied with fighting the dirty thoughts that were going through his head. And it took every ounce of willpower that he possesed to do so. Even though she had a toothpick-like build, she was beautiful. He had to admit that. "It would be a simple matter to rip the towel from her body and pin her to the ground..." He thought, leering. Then, he caught himself, but it was too late. Darcy marched over to the door, opened it, and blew him out. He landed ungracefully on his ass. After he heard the door slam, he said to himself "...This puts a wrinkle in my plans." He paused, thought, and said "I'll have to outsmart her. I WILL have that pendant!"

(A/N: sorry about the short-ness of the chapter. but you have to admit its good! And the next chapter will not only be longer but more intense. So please continue to read and give me your thoughts on my story so far. Laters!)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

-2 weeks later-

Darcy had no idea how she had done that. She had heard that somewhere, far back on the family line, there were people who could use magic, but she never thought that she would inherit the skill! Darcy decided to practice her wind blowing, just in case Magus tried to do something similar. She was sneaking out during the day to practice in the forest near the castle. So far she was able to move large boulders, and some lighter trees, and she was getting stronger every day. She figured that if she practiced enough, she could become as strong as Magus, and possibly be able to send herslef home. The faster she got out of this hell-hole, the happier she would be.

Magus was watching her from atop a balcony of his castle as she returned. He figured that now was the time to make his move. He was deep in thought about how he would carry out his plan, when Ozzie walked in.

"Sir Magus, you're needed in the war room.We need your input for our next assult on the humans." he said. "Of course, I'll be comanding, but Slash wants to take a separate..." Ozzie shut up for a moment, and realized that Magus wasn't paying attention to him. "HELLO! Ozzie to Magus! Ozzie to Magus! Do you read me?" he said as he waved his scaly hand in front of Magus's eyes.

Magus took notice, and signaled this to him by grasping Ozzie's arm and twisting it. His hand was healing well. He could hardly tell it had been injured. "Loud and clear, Ozzie. I'll join you in a little while, I have some...business...to attend to."

Ozzie, concealing pain, said "Yes Sir. Thank you Sir." and he walked away, mumbling under his breath "Stupid Magus! If he weren't here, I'd be in charge...I oughta..."

Magus continued on with his thoughts. "I tried force, and I tried stealth." He looked at Darcy and thought "I'll try deception next." He swooped down from the balcony.

On her way back to the castle, Darcy was sure she heard something coming from above. She looked up, then behind, but saw nothing. "I'm paranoid." she said to herself. "He's not spying on me...is he?" She shook her head and bolted for the castle. She had nearly reached the door, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, screamed and turned around, arm extended in hope of whacking whoever it was. Little surprise, it was Magus, and he had just barely dodged Darcy's arm. "There's no need to be so violent, Darcy!" he said.

Darcy retorted "There's no need to sneak up behind me!" then she realized that he just called Darcy and not 'girl'. She knew he was up to something. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Don't be suspicious, Darcy. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I want to make up for that." he said. "Would you join me for dinner tonight? We can discuss things. If you want."

"Dinner?" she asked, eyes lighting up. She hadn't had a good meal since she came here. "Why not? When and where should I meet you?" she asked.

Magus smiled, but Darcy saw that his eyes were cold. It looked phoney. "I'll come get you a few hours before sunset. Be sure to be in your room." Then, he vanished in a swirl of smoke.

Darcy scratched her head and thought "I must have plastered him to the wall harder than I thought... Or he's been inhaling some of that smoke he vanishes in.."

Darcy was in her room, sleeping. She had forgotten all about dinner, but Magus hadn't. He knocked on the door, and she woke up like a bolt. She ran to the door, and opened it, letting Magus in.

"You forgot, didn't you." Magus said. "No matter.. I brought something for you." and he handed Darcy a pale blue dress.

Darcy stared at the dress for a moment, and said "It's nice, but where did you get it? I'm sure it's not yours."

"I borrowed it from Flea." he answered.

"Flea? Oh, that glamour Queen that i've seen around here." Darcy said, remembering. On her fourth day here, Flea had 'borrowed' all the make-up that she had with her. It was never seen again. "Wasn't she a little, oh, suspicious?"

"No, and...uh, HE didn't mind. I didn't ask." Magus snickered.

"He?!?!" exclaimed Darcy.

"Yes, he. It's a long story."

"Okay...Let's talk about that one later." she paused and said "Um, could you leave the room while I put this on? You've already seen me naked, so it's not like you'll be missing anything."

Magus smirked, then turned around and left the room. Darcy took off her clothing quickly, and stepped into the dress. She looked awful. The dress, although a lovely shade of blue and very well made, hung on her like a tent. Darcy swore, disgusted with her stick figure body. "Shit! a MAN can fill this dress better than I can." she mumbled to herself. "What was Magus thinking? Or was he even thinking at all?.."

She stepped out the door. Magus looked at her, and with a forced smile "Lovely...Blue is your colours.

Darcy gave Magus a funny look, and told him "I'm ready anytime. How far is the dining room?"

"Not far." he said. "Just honld on to me, or I might lose you on the way." Darcy latched on to his arm, and he began to chant the words to a spell. They both vanished, and reappeared in a room that had been carefully set up. It was dimly lit by candles and the fire from the fireplace, and on the table rested a roasted chicken, a pot of soup, bread, and a bottle of wine. The place oozed of romance.

"You're trying to hit on me, aren't you?" asked Darcy, killing any mood that there might have been.

Magus sighed and said "...No use hiding it from a smart girl like you. You've found me out. I've been captivated by your beauty. I can't keep it hidden any longer." He took hold of Darcy's hand, and raised it to his lips.

Darcy snorted, tore her hand away from his, and said "Bullshit! You just want my pendant. How stupid do you think I am?"

He shook his head, then said "Can't we just put the past behind us? That pendant is the farthest thing from my mind now." He pulled out a chair, and said "You don't have to believe me, but at the very least, will you dine with me?" he asked.

As skeptical as Darcy was, she was hungry, and after living off of stale bread and mystery stew for ten days, she would do ANYTHING for a decent meal. Even if that anything involved eating with Magus. She sat down, but announced loudly "I'm only here because I'm hungry. Keep that in mind."

Magus poured some wine into both their glasses, and sat down. He took a sip, but Darcy seemed hesitant. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm not going to poison you." He said.

Darcy was pretty sure this was all some evil plot, but she figured if Magus was drinking the wine, it was safe. She sampled some of it. It seemed alright. But she felt a little lightheaded. "Just the alcohol." she thought, not worried.

Then Magus asked her "Would you like to try the soup? I assure you, it's safe too." Then he laughed. A real one, not a cheap, phone laugh.

"What the hell is he on?" She looked at Magus, who was carving up the chicken, and thought "Maybe I DID damage his brain." She smiled at him, nodded and said "Yeah, sure. It looks good. Uh...is there any meat in it? I don't eat meat." She was a strict vegitarian. She kept herself from starving by picking what ever appeared to be animal out of her stew ar her meals.

As Magus filled two bowls with the hot soup, he said "No. Just vegetables and spices." He paused, looked at the chicken, and said "Hmm. No use asking if you want some of this." Shaking his head, he muttered "Strange..."

Darcy took a bowl of soup. It contained all kinds of different vegetables, and bits of herbs. And it smelled wonderful. She took a big spoonful, and brought it to her lips, but she stopped before she ate any. Half of her mind thought "This is obviously a trap of some kind. DON'T EAT IT!!" but the other half was thinking "Who cares!?!?! It's food, and it doesn't look like it's already ben eaten! GO FOR IT!!" she listened to the second voice. She closed her eyes, and ate some of the soup. Darcy waited about five seconds, just to make sure something wasn't going to happen to her. "Hey, this is good. Really good!" she said between mouthfuls.

Magus just took another sip of wine, and thought "This is going even more predictably that I expected. I'll have that pendant in no time at all." He looked at the pendant, which hung around Darcy's neck, and rested in the middle of her chest. "But should I kill her right away, or...?" He watched as Darcy finished off the soup, and drown the rest of her wine. She wiped her mouth off, and burped. "Hmmph... She eats like a pig." Magus mused to himself. He also drank the rest of his wine, and refilled both glasses.

Darcy smiled and said "So, shall we talk? I'm sure we both have plenty to say." She took a gulp of her wine, and helped herself to a slice of freshly baked bread.

Magus nodded his head. "You first, love. I insist." He didn't feel like revealing much to her, so he hoped that she would talk for a long time. She usually did.

"Don't call me 'love'. I mean it." she said to Magus with a frown. "Um, where should I begin?" Darcy asked herself. "Er, my full name is Darcy Leene Arrowny."

Magus's eyes lit up in recognition. "Leene? That's odd...the Queen of Guardia is named Leene." He was silent for a bit, but he finally asked, as he finished another glass of wine, "Could you be her decendant?"

Darcy shrugged and said "I don't know for sure... It's possible. I hear that there's some royal blood in the family. But since the house of Guardia fell in 1875, it really doesn't matter."

Magus listened intently. This was turning out to be quite ineresting. As he refilled his glass, he said "Facinating...you do bear a resemblance to her."

"Really? I doubt the Queen looks like a scarecrow that escaped from its field." said Darcy, mocking herself.

Magus responded, still in character, "Don't put yourself down, love..."

"Call me 'love' again, and I'll knock the shit out of you! Got it?" said Darcy, agnrily.

"Fine." said Magus, taking another sip of wine.

She continued "So what about you? If I ever make it home, a report on you would really score me an A+ in school. Tell me a little. Your real name can't be Magus. What would it be?"

He swallowed a bit of chicken, and said "My name...?" Should he tell her? Does she need to know? He closed his eyes, and said "My full name... is Janus Zeal. It's been so long, I've almost forgotten it." He drowned the rest of his wine.

Darcy said "Janus...that's nicer than Magus...it suits you. Which would you prefer I use?" She finished another glass of wine. She was feeling a little funny, so she decided to not have anymore.

"Magus...call me Magus." he said bitterly. "if you call me Janus, I probably wouldn't recognize it." He refilled his glass with more wine, and drank it all in one gulp.

She poured the both of them another glass, and said "Alright, Magus it is." Darcy felt that something was wrong. She asked Magus "Are you okay?" She helped herself to some more soup, neither of them saying a word. Finally, she said "If it makes you feel any better, you can call me 'love'. Anything. Just say something. I'm getting nervous."

He was still silent. The food on his plate was growing cold. What Darcy had said...the name Janus suiting him...He couldn't hink about that. Janus was in the past. He had to forget the past. But, he felt uncomfortable living like this. As the leader of some stupid, two-bit army. Even after all these years, he still didn't feel like the name Magus fit him. He glanced at Darcy, then turned away and sighed.

That was all the prompting Darcy needed. Even if he didn't want it, Magus would have her comfort. "It's alright." she said quietly as she stood up and walked over to Magus. "You can tell me. I'll listen." She placed her hand on his shoulder.

The soft touch of Darcy's hand made something inside Magus give way. He let out a long sigh, and told Darcy everything: About Zeal, his sister Schala, and his mother. About Lavos, and right up to being stranded here. About his whole army being a lie, something he wanted no part in. As he told Darcy more and more, he began to lose his self control. Remembering all this was painful. Finally, unable to restrain himself, he broke down and cried. The floodgates that had been shut tight all his life were opened.

Darcy wrapped her arms around him. For once, she had nothing to say. She just stood there, giving Magus a sorely needed shoulder to cry on. She couldn't believe it. Magus, despite his firey temper, cold heart, and arrogance, was just as vulnerable and scared as she was. It stirred something inside her. She stroked Magus's long hair, and softly kissed him on the pointed tip of his ear.

Eventually, Magus stopped crying. He felt disgusted with himself for displaying so much emotion. He thought to himself "I shouldn't have had any wine. I must be drunk." He looked up at Darcy, ready to push her away, but he couldn't. He saw the concern on her face. Her face...her eyes...her lips...He gently touched Darcy cheek, and muttered "Darcy...I...I..." and he drew her nearer. He kissed her gentily on the mouth. hi hand lingered on her neck.

Darcy was stunned. This was unexpected, but she wasn't complaining. Magus kissed her again, his tongue now in her nouth, and he fingered the chain of the pendant. Darcy pulled away from him in shock. This was the whole point of dinner here. Wine her, dine her,seduce her, take the pendant, then kill her. "No ...no... You're faking it." she said. "You don't really...I'm not a fool!!" she ran for the door of the room. "You can't.." she said choking, and she left.

Magus put his head down on the table. "What was I thinking?" he mumbled. "What could I possibly see in her?" He clenched his fists and said "I'm drunk. I must be. Shit! How could I be so stupid? I could have plucked it off her neck!" He stood up, and in rage, picked the table over.

(A/N: There! chapter 6 is now up. And I said it would be a long one :) happy reading!)


	7. Chapter 7

Warning: Mild violence and language.

Chapter 7

It had three days, but Darcy couldn't stop thinking about that night. She knew she couldn't trust Magus. That was all just part of some evil scheme, and he would kill her the moment the pendant came off, she knew. But she had felt something then. Was it love? She had never been kissed before, since all the guys that she knew thought she was a freak, so it may just have been a head rush. But, why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

But she had to put it out of her mind. She had to ignore all the funny feelings. Magus didn't mean anything that he did then. It was either a part of a plot to get her pendant, or he had been ripping drunk. The second was very possible, since he was putting away the wine like there was no tomorrow. Darcy had felt quite buzzed after her second glass, and Magus had managed to consume four or five! No matter, whatever the cause was, it wasn't really important in the scheme of things.

She had been avoiding Magus at all costs, to avoid any uncomfortable moments. She had decided instead to concentrate on doing her work around the castle, including extra jobs, to fill her time and mind. Besides, it gave her an opportunity to get to know Frik better. While all the other monsters here chose to ignore her or maker rude comments about her and Magus, he was friendly. And it gave her a chance to get first shot at the food. It may not have been as good as the stuff Magus had served her, but it was much better than it looked. Assuming you got it while it was still hot.

Unfortunately, since she was preoccupied with thoughts about You-Know-Who, Darcy hadn't been doing her work that well. She had taken then job of letter out some of Ozzie's clothes, and hadn't bothered to secure a few of the seams. So when the rather plump Ozzie bent over while wearing these, he had an embarrasing situation on his...er, hands. Also, when she cleaned Slash's room, she had missed dusting a few spots. This might not have been so bad, but Slash was a terrible neat freak. Don't mess with a neat freak with a sword and a bad attitude. Her most recent problem involved Flea, and the make-up he took from her. He had an alergic reaction, and developed a bright red rash all over his face. They had all pinpointed Darcy as the one responsible, and they all decided to teach her a lesson together.

Darcy was mopping the floor in the main hall of the castle when Ozzie, Flea, and Slash teleported in. She looked at them and said "Um, yes? What do you want?"

Slash, who was at the rea of the party, drew his sword and shouted at Darcy "BITCH! You left DUST in my room!!" and made a charge at her. However, the floor ws till wet, and he took a flying leap into Flea, who toppled into Ozzie. The confused pile gave Darcy a chance to escape. She dropped her mop, and ran like hell.

"Hey!" shouted Flea. "The little bitch is getting away!!" He separated himself from the other two, and ran after Darcy. Ozzie stood up, picked up Slash by the back of his collar, and followed Flea.

Darcy had managed to run quite far away considering the time she had. She reached for her neck to hold on to the pendant, a thing she did when she was nervous, but it wasn't there! Her mind immediately went into overdrive, trying to remember what she did with it. She had taken it off this morning to mend the chain that it hung on, but Lizz made her start her chores early. She had left it in her room, inside her bookbag! She said to herslef "Oh I don't believe this! This is like a nightmare, and I'm so ready to wake up!!" Darcy made a mad dash to her room, hoping that she would make it in time.

Magus was in his room, thinking about the events of three nights ago. He knew he had been plastered, and wasn't in control of his emotions, but no matter what he was doing, his thoughts always returned to Darcy. When he tried to concentrate on a spell, her face always appeared in his mind, derailing his train of thought. And the dreams... He dismissed it as lust. What else could it be? Love was an emotion for the weak. He was definitely NOT weak. And definitely not in love.

Suddenly, he heard a loud stomping in the hall. He opened the door to look out, and saw Darcy rush by. He caught himslef looking at her ass. "Lust. it's simply lust." he said to himself. About ten seconds later, he heard a louder stomping. He checked again. Flea dashed by, then Ozzie, with Slash lagging behind by a few feet. He watched them vanish from sight, and retreated to his room. "Hmmph. Darcy can take care of herself. They could all stand a little exercise." he mumbled to himself. He collapsed in a chair, and closed his eyes. He needed to rest. He had attempted to summon Lavos again last night, and failed. He couldn't stop thinking about her! If he could just hold his concentration...

Then, abruptly interupting his thoughts, Magus heard a scream. His eyes flew open.

Darcy!

Darcy had almost made it to her room, but Flea had caught up with her. He produced a blast of fire that knocked Darcy off her feet, and sent her skidding to the end of the hall. "Ha! Gotcha! That'll teach you to ruin my face!" shouted Flea in triumph. He let loose a bigger blast which pusshed her up against the wall.

But Darcy wouldn't give up that easily. She focused all her thoughts, screamed "Take this!!", and picked up Flea in a mini-tornado. She could have kept it up for quite a while, but Ozzie struck her with a bolt of lightning, which broke her concentration. He cackled evilly.

Flea fell on his butt, and yelled to Slash "Well, don't just stand there lookin' pretty! Slice her! Dice her! You know you want to!!"

Slash sneered and said "Don't tell ME what to do! Why do you think I have this sword?!" he charged at Darcy. Hacking away at her. He made several deep gashes across her back, arms, and sides, and made a fine cut on her left cheek, crossing her eye. Darcy shrieked in pain. Then Ozzie took another turn. He shot a blizzard of ice at her, which ripped into Darcy's flesh like bits of glass. She couldn't stand the pain any longer. She let out a faint cry, and blacked out.

Slash was about to run his sword through Darcy's heart, when a wave of dark magic covered them all. He dropped his weapon, and turned around in time to take the power of Magus's DarkMist head on. The fiends were knocked off their feet. Ozzie, Slash, and Flea, stumbling to stand, looking at Magus, who was glaring at them. He didn't say a single word, but they all knew they were in trouble by the evil look in his eyes.

"Um, just remembered, I have to go do my hair! Bye now!" said Flea, and he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Slash followed suit by saying "Uh..and I have to...er, polish my armor...rust and all, you know!" He also dissapeared.

Ozzie couldn't think of anything to say, but left too. He knew better than to mess with Magus when he was in a bad mood.

Magus walked over to Darcy. She was lying in a pool of her own blood, which was growing bigger by the second. Somthing inside him said that he should help her. That he should show compassion. but why should he? What had the pain in the ass ever done for him? Then he recalled...his hand. He picked her up. It was like holding a broken doll, her light body so near to falling apart. Swallowing his pride, he brought her to her room.

Darcy regained consciousness slowly. She awoke for a moment, and could make out a blurry form leaning over her. She tried to move, but the pain that caused sent her spinning back into the darkness.

Some time later, she came to again. She moaned, and felt a hand stroke her hair. She tried to see who it was, but her left eye was covered in a bandage, and her right eye was swollen shut. "Who...who're you...and where...?" Darcy muttered weakly.

"Shhh... don't talk." said the person. It was whispered, but it made her head pound. The voice was male, and vaguely familliar. Magus? No, it couldn't be him. Why would he? Her mind was too hazy to tell for sure if it was him or not. It COULD be someone else. Darcy heard the voice again. "Rest. You need it." She was tired. Darcy did as she was told. She moved her head a little, and slept.

She was awoken by the sound of Frik entering her room. She sat up, despite the pain. Frik, smiling, said "Glad to see yer feelin' better, sweetie. You've been out of it fur two days now."

Darcy looked at Frik in disbelief. "Two days...? Did I miss anything important? Did anything happen?" she asked.

Frik shook his head. "Nope. Things've been quiet 'round here. Ya didn't miss a thing." Frik took hold of Darcy's arm, and said "I better git started on what I wuz supposed to do. Gotta remove those bandages."

Darcy looked a bit worried. "Remove them? So soon?"

"Hey, nothin' ta worry about." Frik said. "Magus told me to. 'e said somethin' about 'im castin' a spell on ya to help heal faster, or somethin' like that." Frik smiled, raised an eyebrow, and said "I think 'e likes ya, Darcy."

A look of surprise and doubt crossed Darcy's face. "What? You mean he... helped me?"

Frik responded "Yupper. 'n like I said, I think 'e likes ya! 'e wouldn't do that for jus' anybody!"

Darcy looked at Frik as if he lost his mind. "Sure, he likes me. I bet he even wants to marry me, and have twenty kids!! He hates me to bits, Frik! Listen to reality, not all those dirty rumors!" she shouted.

"I don't listn' to rumors. I jus know, as a fact, that 'e must like ya ta treat ya so well." retorted Frik. "Fr'instance, yer wearin' one of 'is shirts!"

Darcy looked down. Her T-shirt was gone, and replaced by a dark red, long sleeve shirt. Darcy just sat there, and stared at it. Hers must have been shredded in the battle. She thought "He did...He really did...why?

"Well, back ta business." said Frik. He began to remove the bandage from right arm, and Darcy almost screamed. Frik may have been a nice guy, but he was not a gentle worker. By the time he got to Darcy's left arm, she had blacked out once more.

(A/N: Another chapter down. And get ready, because i'm already working on the next one and its gonna be up in the next few days. Darcy and Magus's relationship get more intense.)

Reviews are always welcome. Laters :)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 9

After waking up yet again, Darcy inspected herself, and swore that this time she was up and around for good. She would not pass out, or scream, or anything else undignified like that. She sat on her bed for a while, collectiong her thoughts. Then it occured to her that she should check to see if her pendant was still in her bookbag. It was a matter of life or death to Darcy, quite literaly. It was there. She held it tightly in her hands, taking comfort in it's presence. She looked at it, and caught a glimpse of her face in the polished red stone. Something looked different. She walked over to the mirror slowly, as she was still very sore. She saw a large red scar that started at the bottom of her left cheek, crossed her eye, and ended about an inch from her hairline. "My god..." she said to herself. "Now that's a nasty..." but she couldn't finished. She sat back down on her bed. "It's no big deal. It's just a scar...but...why? Why me?" she thought to herself. "What have I ever done? How could I deserve this? I'm... I'm a good person. Why am I stuck in this hell hole?" She looked at the pendant. It was the source of all this. When she had first arrived, Magus had said the pendant drew her here. And if she had just given it to Magus to begin with...she would be dead, but, none of this would have happened. None of this mental or physical torture. "I can't stand it anymore!" she wailed. She was silent for a long time. Finally, Darcy said "It... It'll end now." She tied on the pendant as best as she could, and left her room.

Darcy limped down the hall to Magus's room. When she finally made it, she leaned again't the door, and moaned. It had been too much work, walking over here. Although the wounds on the surface were healed, she was still weak and sore. Darcy opened the door a crack, and looked to see if Magus was there. He wasn't. she decided to enter, and wait for him.

She quietly opened the door, and walked in. The room was spotlessly clean, as it was when she came in her first time. Darcy had a feeling this would be a long wait, so she sat down on the bed. An hour passed, and Darcy was getting bored. She needed something to do with herself, or she will lose it. She looked over to a dresser that rested beside the bed. Well, why not take a peek? She slid the top drawer open. There was a few pairs of gloves, the small bottle of antiseptic that she used on Magus's hand, a quill and some ink, and a book. It was the same one Magus had been looking over when she came in two weeks ago. She wanted to know what was in it. After carefully picking it up, Darcy opened the cover of the book, and read the first page. It was written in the sloppy script of a small child.

**_ im scared. It has been 3 days since i fell thru the blue hole. i miss Schala. i don't no if she is ok. i beat the monsters here, and they took me with them. they keep saying somthing about me being there king. i still am royaltie here, i gues. but the green, fat monster really scares me._**

_**i want to go home!**_

Darcy gasped. This was Magus, when he was still a child! This was his diary. Darcy looked closely at the paper it was written on. There were small circle where the ink had ran. Teardrops. She skipped ahead. The handwriting was much neater, and very clear.

_** We've started the war against the humans. It was all Ozzie's wretched idea. I couldn't care less if we win or lose. I have no desire to rule anything. In fact, I hope that the whole miserable lot of them die. It would save me some trouble.**_

She skipped ahead a few more pages.

**_ This is simply a waste of time. Sir Cyrus came after Ozzie and I. What a pitiful man! It was too simple to dispose of him. Not a challenge, but at least I salvaged some fun out of his friend. I believe his name was Glenn. A frog's body suits him well!_**

Darcy skipped to the last page that was written on.

**_ I am losing my mind. For the fifth night, I've dreamt of Darcy._**

"He's dreaming of me?!" thought Darcy in shock. She had to keep on reading.

**_ This is getting unbearable. I can't allow myself to tell anyone, but if I deny it any longer.._**

_** It was the most vivid yet. She was alone, outside the castle this time. She was quietly siting down on a rock, I came up from behind, and...**_

The book was snatched away from her suddenly. It was Magus. He shouted at her "WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!" His eyes seemed to glow red.

Although shocked, Darcy still knew what she was here for. She said. "I... I'm sorry, Magus. I know that I shouldn't have, but...don't get mad, this'll be fast..."

"You're damn right it'll be fast!" said Magus, enraged. Putting the book back in the drawer, and slamming it, he continued "You may not come in my room. You may not look at any of my possessions. You would be dead now if it wasn't for that pendant!"

She was shaking, but she took a deep breath, and said "...Magus, I...I'm giving you the pendant." She removed it, and handed it to Magus. He took it, but looked at Darcy in disbelief. She stood up, walked away from Magus, and continued. "That's why I was here. I... I don't... I can't take it anymore. I'm not wanted here, I know. The Mystics hate me, Ozzie hates me, Flea and Slash both hate me, you obviously hate me... I don't have any friends here except for Frik, and he, he never has the time free..." She let out a pathetic sob, and sank to her knees, too weak to stand any longer. "You have what you want. Now..." she said, voice catching. "You can kill me now if you want. I don't care. I just don't want to be here anymore." Darcy looked up at Magus and said, tears streaming down her face "Just...make it fast, and...as..as painless as p...possible." She bent her head down, and muttered a bearly audible "...please..."

Something cracked inside Magus at that moment. He felt sorry for this poor girl. He had no idea that she was so depressed. He wasn't sure why he cared, but he did, against all common sense. He put the pendant in one of the pouches that hung from his waist, and walked over to her. Magus kneeled down, and put his hand on Darcy's shoulder. She tensed up in fear. "I won't hurt you, Darcy." he said softly. "And I don't hate you. Not now. And not ever again." What was he saying? Had he lost his mind?

Darcy looked up at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Magus touched Darcy's cheek, and looked in her eyes. "Such a beautiful shade of green..." he thought. They kissed. Magus couldn't control himself. "Shes just so...beautiful...Good lord, control yourself, Magus!" he mentally shouted. But he didn't care. And didn't stop. He was tired of being stone cold, emotionless. To free himself, would it be so bad? It had been so long...

Darcy was beyond surprised. She came here fully prepared to die, and was now kissing her expected executioner. And enjoying it. Her mind was a huricane of thoughts. "My god... he does... but... and how much... and how far does he... I love him... I must... can't deny it... but why?... He has the pendant... but the book... so...?" She looked in his eyes. Red, like blood. Like the stone in the pendant. Strangely beautiful. She saw nothing masking his feeling. This was real. Or he'd been drinking again. Either one would be plausible. She didn't know what to do.

Magus separated his lips from hers long enough to whisper "I love you." Then kissed her again, harder. He brought Darcy closer to him. He unfastened the top button of her shirt, and kissed her there.

"Good Lord! He's going to seduce me!" Darcy thought, stunned. She had feelings for him, and even lusted for him a little. With a ass like his, what female wouldn't? But... sex, now, and with HIM? she pulled away, and retreated a few feet. "Magus...I, er, feel something for you, don't get me wrong, but... isn't this a little soon? I mean, I'm sure it's be a great experience, but, I never even been on a date, or had a boyfriend, much less... well, you know." she said, scrambling for the words. "And...and I'm not in very good shape now...if we did, it might, well, kill me..."

That jolted Magus back into reality. He closed his eyes, and swore. He felt incredibly stupid. Stupider than Ozzie, if that was possible. He had almost... almost let his emotions take over. Bad things happened when he listened to his emotions. It was worry for Schala that got him sent to this wretched place. He loved Darcy, but he couldn't give in to it. "Shit, I didn't know what I was saying. that meant nothing. Think of it as a temporary lose of sanity." he stated.

Darcy interupted. "Hmmph, that would figure." She was not too surprised. She stood up and said "Just when I think you show some emotion, you turn back into a statue. Are you even human?"

Magus stood up, and looked at her coldly, a drastic change of attitude from a few seconds ago, and said "I'm human, girl. Just because I look like this doesn't mean that I'm not."

"That's not what I mean't." said Darcy. "I mean't... You mean you're human? Oh, I thought..."

"Yes, I am. I may look strange, but human blood runs in my veins." said Magus, coldly.

"Oh... But I mean't that I hardly EVER see you show any positive emotion." said Darcy. "You're like a block of stone. Most of the guys that I know are off the scale for that sort of thing. You... I'm pretty damn sure you piss ice water!"

He was not amused by that remark. He reached out, and struck her hard across the face. This time, the only on in pain was Darcy.

Being so weak, Darcy collapsed on the floor again. "This is the kind of thing that I was talking about." she said, trying hard not to cry. "This is the only way anyone has ever seen you. Bitter. A hatefull, cold-hearted bastard. When you DO let your emotions out, you over do it." Bravely, she said "I've never seen a grown man cry like a little baby."

She shouldn't have said that. His eyes glowed in rage, and he began chanting the words to a spell. The same one he had tried to use on her before. "You're braver for someone who has no protection." he said. "I have no need for you anymore." An evil smile crept across his face. "You get your wish. Prepare yourself for the Void!!!"

The Void...death. Darcy didn't really care if she lived or died, but she hadn't finished her business with Magus. She was going to make a point with Magus, even if it killed her. And it probably would. She stood up, and shouted through the gathering darkness "FINE! But I won't go without a fight, you cocky bastard!" She had no other choice. She summoned up every last ounce of courage and strenght in her body to try and cast a spell. She knew the most she could do was create a tornado that would make Magus a little dizzy. It wouldn't be much, but it was her only hope.

She began to concentrate on it, when Magus launched his attack. She could feel the tips of her pigtails burn, and her clothes began to meld with her skin. It was far from over, but it didn't stop her. She kept at it, gathering all the power that she had in her. Darcy never knew that she was capable of this. It was like she was drawing on something that rested deep in her soul. She levitated a few inches off the floor, and a golden aura surrounded her. "If I'm gonna leave this mortal coil." she shouted "I'm making one HELL of an exit!!!" Darcy thrust both hands toward Magus, and screamed at the top of her lungs "LUMINARE!!" A huge burst of light overcame Magus, and the darkness that had gathered in the room. He was utterly unprepared, and he fell to his knees and ceased his attack. Darcy stopped too, but only because she couldn't keep it up. she hungs in the air for a few seconds, then fell to the ground.

"You...you didn't win..." she said. She was collapsed on the floor, to tired and in too much pain to move. "I...I...I'm just as st...strong as...you.."

Magus stumbled to his feet. He was injured, but he had been hurt worse before. He looked at Darcy, who was shaking, and bleeding from her barely healed wounds. "Such a fool...and such a pity." he said to himself.

Darcy turned her head, and stared at him. She said "You're the fool. You let..let your emotions control you...you think you have control, but... you aren't the.. the one pulling the strings. For God sakes, grow up!" Then Darcy shuddered. "I...I need to lie down..." she said as she placed her head on the floor, and exhaled deeply. "I hope... I hope the void is nice and quiet...so tired..." she shut her eyes.

He watched. Magus didn't care that Darcy was dying before his eyes. Or at least that was what he tried to convince himself. Logic dictated that he shouldn't give a damn about her. But he did. It was his fault that she was dying. He have never, ever felt this guilty in his life. He swallowed his pride yet again, a thing he had been doing a lot lately, picked her up as gently as he could, and placed her on his bed.

Darcy gasped in pain, opened her eyes, and said "...Ha, you do care...why not just ad..admit it..." She coughed up a bit of blood.

"Will you shut up!" said Magus. "This isn't the time to make stupid remarks." He got a cloth out of a drawer, and wiped the blood off Darcy's face.

She smiled, and said "You didn't answer me..." Darcy blinked. then asked "So..so, what are you g...going to do? It'd just... be easier to...to...let me die."

He smiled grimly, and said "True, but I don't do things the easy way." Magus sighed and then said "...I'm sorry, alright? You're right... I do let my emotions control me." He brushed the hair off of Darcy's face. "Just relax and... I'll do what I can."

"Ap..appology accepted." she said weakly, Darcy closed her eyes. "And.. and if I don't m...make it, I...I hope you d...d...defeat Lavos... and p...put in a blow f...f...for me..."

Magus nodded, Then he waved his hand over Darcy, and little sparkling, star-like things covered her. She yawned, and fell into a deep, dreamless, sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Darcy's head ached. Not to mention the rest of her. She slowly sat up, even though it hurt like hell. She saw that she was lying on the floor of Magus's room, on a few folded blankets. Darcy looked over, and saw Magus on his bed sleeping, and snoring loud enough to wake the dead. She stood up, and began to walk over to him. However, she hadn't recovered much, so she faltered after a few steps, fell, and brought a table with several glasses on it with her.

All the noise woke Magus up. He got up, and went over to Darcy. "What are you doing out of bed? Going to spy on the rest of my things? You should be resting!" he said.

"I'm up because you were snoring! You sound like you got a chainsaw up your nose." She looked him over. His face was stern, but not mean. For some reason he was now wearing the pendant. "And noooo, I wasn't. I just did that because I got bored waiting for you to come back. I'm sorry, though. Anyway, I'm going back to my room. And there's no way you're going to stop me." and she stood back up.

Magus dashed over to the door and stood in front of it. "Over my dead body. I spent the last 7 hours trying to keep you alive, and I won't lose you in 5 minutes. You can't possibly make it to your room." he said.

Darcy gave Magus a cold stare and said "You CAN'T keep me here against my will. I have no intention to stay in a room with...with..." How could she phrase not wanting to stay near him because of the dirty dreams he had about her? It really made her uncomfortable.

Magus looked at Darcy and said "The hell I can! Now go, lay down, and get some rest!"

Darcy walked over to Magus and tried to push him out of her way. Magus was a lot stronger than she was, so she wasn't getting anywhere. Then, all of a sudden, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her body, and she collapsed on the floor. "Ack...ok, you were right..." Darcy admitted to Magus. She tried to crawl over to the pile of blankets, her so-called bed, but only managed a few inches before her limbs gave, and she fell over, completely helpless.

Magus, once again, picked up Darcy, and placed her on top of the blankets. Darcy protested loudly all the way, but it didn't stop him. "You are not moving from that spot, even if I have to post a guard." Then he realized that she could hardly move, and said "...Not that you can."

Giving him a look, she replied "Funny...you should be a c...comedian." Darcy shuddered in pain, and said "You know, this whole t...trip has been very bad for my health...Mentally and ph...physically." She stopped. A racking cough siezed her body. Darcy could taste blood in her mouth.

Quickly, almost without thinking, Magus placed one hand on her back, and held a cloth in front of her mouth with the other hand. He softly said a few words that Darcy couldn't understand, and a pale glow surrounded her body. The coughing stopped, and Darcy sighed. "Wha...what did you do?" she asked

"I transfered some of my strenght into you." said Magus. "I'ts just a temporary solution." Shaking his head and blinking, he continued "I've also placed a spell on you to help you regenerate quickly. But..." he yawned, and then said "... but you have to rest for it to work."

"Alright..." said Darcy, lying down. She closed her eyes, and listened for Magus to walk back to his bed. He didn't. She opened her eyes a crack, and saw him looking at her. "What is it...?" she asked uneasily.

His eyebrows raised, and he said "Nothing...nothing at all."

"Sure...Magus...why are you doing this?" Darcy asked.

Magus blinked, and said "Doing what?"

Shifting her head to face him, Darcy said "You know...taking care of me... It.. it's not like you have to..."

Magus was silent. Why WAS he doing this? "I'm not sure myself." he said after a while.

"If you ever f...figure it out, tell me..." said Darcy sleepily.

He nodded. "Darcy... how much did you read?" he asked quietly.

"Huh? Oh.. not much... Just the first page, t...two others, and... the last one. But not all of it. I...I said I was sorry..." she answered, yawning.

"Yes. I know." Magus said. "So, you know about the dreams...?"

Darcy nodded, then mumbled "I don't mind... but don't try anything funny when I'm asleep."

Laughing a little, Magus said "On my honor."

"...does this mean that we're friends?" she was saying.only semi-consious, and not sure about what she was saying.

Looking at Darcy and smiling, he said softly "...Yes. That would. Get some sleep."

He didn't have to ask Darcy twice. She was out like a light the instant she closed her eye.

Magus woke up the next day, believing that no one was there. For some reason, his head was pounding like someone was using it as a drum. He looked on the floor for his boots, and saw Darcy sleeping there. He had no recollection of what had happened the day before, so he blew a head gasket. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!?" yelled Magus. Darcy woke up abruptly and turned around.

"Huh...? What are you talking about? Last night you wouldn't let me leave, so I was stuck on your stupid floor!" said Darcy, sitting up, and holding her neck.

"I did no such thing!" said Magus, looking at her evily.

"Don't lie, Magus." said Darcy.

"I'm not lying! Hey, what the HELL happened to my room?!" said Magus, as he looked around. It looked like a large army had been fighting there.

"You mean you don't remember the battle, and me almost biting it...?" she asked.

Magus looked at her funny and said "Battle?"

"That answers my question." said Darcy. "Well, can you remember ANYTHING?" asked Darcy, getting angry.

Magus thought hard. "I caught you reading my diary, you...you gave me the pendant, and... the rest is a blank." he said.

Darcy stood up, and said "Well, I guess it's for the best." She was feeling much better than before, so she got to her feet. Then yawned. "I'm going to my room." and limped out the door.

Something made Magus look at the pendant that he now wore. It was glowing, but the light was a sickly green color, not a bright red. In fear, he tore it from his neck, and tossed it on his bed. It stopped glowing. "It was the pendant... It still thinks it belongs to HER! It started to erase my memory! I have it, and I can't use it! DAMN!!!"

(A/N: Attention readers Due to a sudden lose in my family, the next chapter of Cracking the Shell will only be up Sunday night. Me GrandMum passed very suddenly at the the age of 85. She lived a great, long life and will be missed! I asked for patience, and I promise the next chapter will be a good one.)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Darcy went to her room wondering if this whole thing was a sick joke. She was sure if it got any more complicated, she could sell the rights to her story and create a movie of the week. She locked the door, then sat down and covered her face with her hands. "I want to go home..." she mumbled to herself. She missed her parents, her friends, and even her little brother Thomas. Hell, she would rather deal with a thousand Thomas's than be here! She pulled on both of her pigtails. "This can't be real!!" She pinched herself, to check if it was a dream. All she got was a bruise. She was still in awful shape, having barely recovered from her brush with death, and she was tired. She fell asleep before she hit the bed.

All day long, her sleep was haunted by dreams. The first was a jumble of images. Ozzie. Evil laughter. Darkness. Red eyes. That awful monster...Lavos. A boy with red-spiked hair... and people she had never seen, all fighting it... and calling her. She woke up, her breath coming in short gasps. "...Just a dream..." Darcy thought to herself. Back again to sleep.

Later, a second dream. Less hectic, but equally frightening. Imprisoned...A man in a cloak came in, and freed her. She ran into his arms...looked into his eyes...red eyes... He removed his hood. Magus. He smiled sweetly at her...kissed her... she felt his hands digging in to her back. She looked up, and saw the kind look replaced by one of pure evil. Pain...pain shot through her body...and she collapsed on the ground. Cold metal on her skin... and a final, evil. mocking laugh.

Darcy awoke with a start and a shreak. "Only a dream...just a dream..." she thought, repeated to herself. But she couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

Magus's night was just as uneasy. It started with Darcy, just standing in the middle of his room, staring at him. Another dream like this, he thought to himself... He walked over to her, to take her in his arms, but she pulled away, and shook her head. The pendant appeared in her hands. She held it up, and it started to glow... Glow even brighter than he ever thought possible. Her pigtails fluttered, sticking straight out at the sides. An explosion... and in her place was Lavos! He was utterly shocked, but ready. Magus pointed his fingure at it, attempting to cast DarkMatter, but nothing happened! He fell to his knees... he was now himself as a child...as Janus. What good would a 7-year old child be against Lavos? There was a huge blast...

Magus was up like a bolt. His clothes were soaked through with cold sweat. He got up, went to a basin, and splashed some water on his face. He mumbled to himself "...A prophecy...?" Magus knew that he should take things like this seriously. The part with him reverting back to a child was nonesense. But... Darcy summoning Lavos? She was the only one who could handle the pendant... It actually made sense! This couldn't wait. "The sun sets. Darcy should be up." Magus thought to himself. He hastily put on some clean clothes, then found his boots and headed out the door.

Darcy was sitting by her window, watching the sun go down. She was too afraid to try and sleep anymore. Everytime she shut her eyes, she heard that horrible laugh. Then there was a knock at her door. The lock was bolted, and she didn't want to be bothered by anyone right now, so she just ignored whoever was there.

"Darcy open up!" called Magus on the other side.

"...Lord..." moaned Darcy to herself. She didn't have any energy left to deal with Magus right now. Darcy pulled herself up and went to the door. She unlocked the bolt and opened open the door. Magus walked in right past her without saying a word. "...Yeah... Sure, come on in." said Darcy, a little annoyed.

Magus turned to her and said "I need to know what happened last night, and then I have a job for you."

Darcy looked was nervous. "Well.. Basically, I came to your room last night in hopes that you would end my life."

"Yes, I know that." Magus interupted. "I want to know what happened afterwards. After you handed me the pendant."

"We got in a fight. Over you not being able to control your emotions..." her voice trailed off, as she watched Magus sit down on her bed.

Magus nodded. He looked at her as if to say, "Continue."

"It was my fault for the fight. I should have know better than to insult you." She said with an appologetic look on her face. "I really, really regret that 'Piss ice water' remark."

He laughed. Magus laughed at one of the remarks that had nearly gotten Darcy killed the night before. "So, you were making fun of my temper..." He snickered.

"Un-huh." said Darcy, confirming his guess. "Let me just give you the whole story. I gave you the pendant, because I didn't want to be here. I started to cry, and said that you could kill me. You kissed me, then took your best shot at seducing me, but I stopped you. You back away, looking kinda pissed off, and I started to give you a speech about you having little control over your emotions."

She stopped at that point, bracing herself for a slap in the face. Magus just sat there, his face devoid of emotion. "Then you tried to kill me. You almost did, but I defended myself with some kind of magic. Anyways, I nearly died as a direct result of that, and you must have felt guilty, because you took care of me for the next few hours. After that, I woke up, and wanted to leave, but you wouldn't let me. Then I collapsed, and you brought me back to where I was sleeping on the floor. Then we agreed we could consider each other friends, and I went back to sleep. Then you forgot everything, and kicked me out." Darcy took a deep breath. "I thought... I thought that I had broken through your armor...Your shell. That I found the nice person inside..." She suddenly realized what she had said. "Uh...I mean..."

Magus still did mothing. He just sat there, a blank expression on his face, looking out the window. He was like that for a few minutes. Darcy was tense, waiting for the moment where he would blow up. It never came. All he said was "I believe you."

You could have knocked Darcy over with a feather. What he said was the absolute last thing she expected to hear. "Wha...?" she mumbled.

"I said I believe you. It makes sense. It fits with all the time that I lost." He paused for a moment, and looked at Darcy. "We were getting along well. It would be a shame to let that progress go to waste." Magus stood up, and walked over to where she was sitting. He looked into her eyes. "...I can tell." he said. "You love me."

Darcy's heart ceased to beat for a few moments. "Yes...I, I mean no... oh, I...I...I don't don't know WHAT the hell I mean!" She stopped to untie her tongue, and stood up. "Ah, no use lying. I do...but, I know you don't. You said it yourself. You don't love me. It's just lust...And I don't bother with people who only want the outside..."

Magus looked as if she had dealt him a blow. "But I do! Really...I can lie too, can't I?" He put his arms around Darcy. "I was in denial. I thought that I was simply weak. But I was wrong. We both know now. And it's not lust...at lwast not all of it. I do want you...but I love you, more than you could understand...And you do love me. You said so yourself... Shouldn't we... make the most of it?" he said with a suggestive smile.

Darcy's mind was swimming. She was about to agree, but the nightmare came back to her. A prophecy... or it could be symbolic. A cold chill ran through her. She needed a way out, or at least an excuse. "Oh no, I'm not fallling for that again!" Darcy said, voice shaking. She tried to free herself from his grip, but couldn't. She continued. "Why the hell should I 'make the the most of it' with a guy who's tried to kill me several time? And besides, this is the third time like this. I bet right before anything happens,it'll stop." She finally tore herself away from him, and said "No. You don't...I...I...I know. You really don't love me... Just go away. You're either having some kind of hormone rush, or you've been drinking again..."

He looked even more hurt. "Darcy, really..." he said as he tried to hold her again. Darcy just pulled herself away. "I do. Why don't you believe me?" he pleaded.

She sighed, and said "I've already covered all the reasons. And besides...you have good taste. You wouldn't pick a dog like me to fall in love with." Pausing, she sniffed, and said. "I look like a living stick figure! I mean...you were acting before.. and you're probably acting now. There's a plot behind this. There has to be."

All thoughts of summoning Lavos departed his mind. Now, all he wanted to do was prove to Darcy that he really cared. "Love...I mean Darcy...I am not acting. The book proves it. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. Me... I don't enderstand what you see in me, but I don't question it."

Darcy's only answer was "You could fertilize a desert with that speech, Magus."

He was growing angry. "Look, if I wanted you for something, I could have simply forced you." He took Darcy by the chin, forcing her to look at him. "I LOVE YOU! ACCEPT THAT!! There's is nothing at all wrong with you! You are walking perfection in my eyes!!!! I've been a jackass through this whole thing!!! WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY?!?!"

"I... I... still don't know..." mumbled Darcy, very confused. "I just... just... I'm scared of you! You've made two attempts on my life, and...even though I hardly trust you... I love you..." A tear crept out of her eye.

Magus wiped it away. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... I never meant it to be like that. I over-react." he said softly. And with that, he kissed Darcy. But this time, it was meant to be a comfort for her rather than him. He moved his hands from her face, and wrapped his arms around her thin form another time. Darcy didn't pull away. "Accept that..." he murmured.

She wasn't scared, or unsure anymore. So they both felt the same now...this was all Darcy could ask for. She kissed him back, and said against his lips "I will..."

At the same time, they both sat down on Darcy's bed, and continued to kiss. Supporting her back, Magus slowly laid her down and resumed. The sun finally set...and covered the room in soft darkness.

(A/N: I managed to post it a few days early. ENJOY!!)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

And time passed...

Darcy had fallen asleep in Magus's arms. When it was all over, she simply nodded off. What little energy she had was spent. All her fear and anxiety had gone away, to be replaced by peace.

Magus, though out of breath, was wide awake. He rather enjoyed making love to her, and not just the physical pleasure. He had never felt so...happy. So at peace with himself. He wished he could stay like this forever, Darcy quietly resting in his arms, her breath on his neck. But he had things to do. He ran his fingures through her long, red hair one final time, then got out of bed. After covering Darcy up with the sheet, he quietly put his clothes on, then headed for the door. But he realized that he had forgotten something. All this, and he had missed the whole point of being here! He was losing sight of his objective! He reached into a pouch, took out a piece of parchment, and quickly wrote a note on it. He kissed her, and saw that she was shivering. It was cold in there, and she only had a thin sheet to warm her. Magus took off his cape, which was woven from thick material. He covered her with it, and left.

A hour or so later, Darcy woke up. She rubbed her eyes, unsure about what had happened. she stretched, yawned, remarked the lack of clothing on her body, and it came back to her. She and Magus had...had... even the thought gave her the shivers. He had already left, for some reason or another, but it had happened. (This is the kind of thing that you don't forget easily..) She hadn't meant for it to get THAT far...but no use trying to change what has happened. It HAD been nice. "Besides," she thought, "with a memory like his, he probably doesn't recall a thing." she rolled over, sat up, and blinked. Magus had left his cape on her bed, which was unusual. Darcy had never seen him without a cape. It didn't seem like an accident, since it was spread out to cover her. Darcy gathered it up, and wrapped herself in it. Partially for the comfort of having something of his, partially for warmth.

As she did this, she heard something 'clink' on the floor. She looked, and saw the small bundle and the note. She picked them both up, and opened the bundle first. It was the pendant! She put it on, and read the note, looking for an explaination.

**_Sorry I had to leave. I have many things to prepare for. As soon as you awaken, come to the top of the castle. I've excused you from your chores. I'll meet you there, and explain more of what I need you to do. Be sure to bring the pendant._**

_**Magus**_

Darcy just stared at the note. No explaination. And no mention of anything else, for that matter. She was tempted to just ignore it, but she wanted to know why he gave her the pendant back. And she wanted to see him again. She stepped out of bed, and put on her jeans and shirt. she folded up Magus's cape, and put it in her bookbag, along with a few other things. She had a feeling that something was about to happen. Something bad.

Just then, as she was putting on her sneakers, something outside her window caught her eye. By the light of the full moon, she saw three figures at the entrance to the castle. One (Which, by the way, looked a whole lot like a frog, even from the distance.) drew a HUGE sword, and hopped through the gates. Darcy said to herself "I'd better tell Magus about this...I'm sure these aren't his guests for tea." Picking up her book bage, she made a dash for the top of the castle, wherever it was.

It took her half an hour to find her way to the top. Every corridor looked the same, and most lead to dead ends. In fact, Darcy only found the place by accident. She saw a little twinkly spot on the ground, and stepped on it. The world faded to black, and she reappeared in a room that wasn't any brighter. Darcy took a cautious step forward, praying not to bump into something nasty. Instead, she caused two bright blue flames to light up. They didn't provide much light against the blackness in there, but Darcy could make out a form on the other side of the room. Her knees shaking, Darcy took a few steps towards the figure. As she did, three more groups of flames lit up. Her heart kept into her throat, but she kept on walking. After the seventh set of flames, Darcy could finally make out the figure. Magus, of course. She thought to herself "Well, who else would it be, stupid..?" He was standing in the middle of a circular pattern in the middle of the floor, arms spread, chanting. A thin spiral of mist, which was growing bigger every second, surrounding him. Darcy tapped him on the shoulder, but he didn't react.

"Boy, talk about your daydreamers. This must be the place." Darcy thought to herself. "But why here?" Then she remembered something. This was the same place where he had accidently summoned her here! Darcy may not have been the brightest person in the world, but even she knew that he was trying to summon Lavos. "But why the hell does he need me?" She mumbled. She looked at Magus, who hadn't noticed her yet. He was still 100 absorbed in his magic, lost to the rest of the world. For safety's sake, Darcy backed away from him. She didn't want to get caught in the way of whatever he was doing.

The mist around Magus grew thicker and thicker, until it filled the room. Darcy started to choke, but he still kept on chanting, oblivious to everything else. Just when she thought that she would be smothered, the mist quickly dissolved.

Darcy tried to take a breath, but couldn't. Even though the room had cleared, her lungs hadn't. Magus had finally finished his spell, and just in time. The first thing he noticed after regaining his senses was Darcy, doubled over and coughing. He rushed over to her, to see if she was alright. Darcy just pushed him away, and coughed a few more times. Magus patted her on the back, and she coughed up a wad of black... stuff. She took a few more deep breaths, and satisfied that her lungs were clear, Darcy said "You could have given me a warning."

"I didn't think that you would be here so early." said Magus. "I assumed that you would sleep longer after..." He stopped in mid-sentence. "...Well, you know what I mean." he finally finished with. He gave Darcy a hand up. "Anyhow, everything is now ready."

Darcy blinked. "Ready for what? Are you gonna try to summon Lavos again?" She knew it was a stupid question, but she wanted to be sure.

"Not quite." Magus said. "YOU will be summoning Lavos."

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!? ME? Are you out of you FUCKIN' MIND??" shouted Darcy.

He stepped back into the center of the circle. "Clam yourself, love. I mis-phrased that. You, and your pendant, will provide the raw energy that I need to awaken Lavos. I will be doing the actual summoning." He pointed at a rack of candles, and lit them. "Precious seconds are being wasted as we speak. We shall begin now."

"Oh, I don't believe this... And just HOW am I gonna DO that?" replied Darcy, raising an eyebrow. Strangely enough, she didn't complain about him calling her 'love'.

Magus sighed. "I'm not sure. But I know that you can. You have it in you." Darcy gave him a look. "Oh... just focus all the magic power you have into the pendant. I'll do the rest."

She was still skeptical. "Well, that's helpful." Darcy stepped closer to him. "One more thing. What happens if this doesn't work?"

"It will." said Magus with confidence.

"I know your track record. Something WILL go wrong. It has to." returned Darcy. "I just want to know if I can walk away from this in one piece."

"I'm not sure about that either. You should be alright."

"Should?!??"

"Things can always happen. Fate is like that."

"You are sooooooo helpful." said Darcy sarcasticly. "Hell no, I won't do it . I don't do things that aren't conductive to a long life."

Magus was expecting this. He had a plan prepared. "Not even for me?" he asked innocently. "I'm not asking much. And you know I wouldn't put you at any risk, love."

Darcy shook her head. "No way. I've nearly died twice. I'm not aiming for a third time."

"Perhaps I can persuade you." he said smoothly. He took Darcy in his arms, and gave her a long passionate kiss. "Convinced yet?"

Her face turned a bright shade of red. "...Not yet...But if you do that again...Damn..." Darcy didn't even have to finish her sentence. Magus gave her two more, equally long kisses before she said "...Yeah, sure I will..." She felt like a total fool to let her buttons be pushed like that, but his kisses just melted away all her resolve.

Magus smiled. Giving her a final peck on the cheek, he pointed to a spot in the front of the candles, and said "Stand over there, and do as I tell you." He then stepped into the middle of the circle.

Darcy did as she was instructed. She walked over to the spot, and stood there. "Well...now what?" she asked.

"Take off the pendant, and hold it in front of you." said Magus. Darcy did. "Now...hmmmm. focus all your energy into the pendant." he ordered.

Darcy didn't have a clue how to do that. She just stood there, looking at the pendant, trying to think of a way out of this. Magus was giving her the evil eye by now, so she figured "Oh well, what's the harm in trying?" She closed her eyes, and thought really, really, REALLY hard. A few sparks came out of the pendant, but nothing else happened. "Um... I doubt that was the raw energy that you were talking about..." she said.

Magus was livid. He was trying hard not to lose his temper, but he couldn't keep it in anymore. "You're NOT doing it right!!!!" he shouted. Causing Darcy to jump. "You CAN, you just aren't TRYING!!!"

Darcy lost her cool, too. "Doing WHAT?! I can't TRY if you DON'T tell me what I'm supposed to do!!! BE MORE SPECIFIC!!!"

He would have kicked himself if he could. Here he was, yelling at a girl who barely knew more magic than Ozzie, and he wanted her to bring Lavos to him. He sighed and went over to Darcy. "Here, I'll try and show you." said Magus, placing his hands on Darcy's shoulders.

A warm feeling went through her body, and the pendant started to glow. She heard a voice in her head, saying "...this is what I mean, love...do this..." Darcy tried to copy the feeling, and the pendant glowed even brighter. Then Magus removed his hands, and most of the warmth faded away. It was like stepping out of a hot tub, and into a pool of cold water. She shut her eyes, gritted her teeth, and focused. So this is what Magus meant... Blood rushed in her ears, and stars exploded behind her eyelids. She was slowly losing her grip on consciousness...but she kept on.

Magus waved his hand, and all the light in the room went out, except for Darcy. It was like she and the pendant were glowing as one. "Try not to think about it..." he muttered. He took a deep breath. He was ready. Tonight, it would work. He knew. He spread his arms, and began to chant...

(A/N: Sorry for the lateness of the chapter! But I made this one extra long. This story is almost done, there is at least 2 more chapters before it all comes to an end.)


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chrono, Frog, and Marle were running down the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them. They had just dispatched Ozzie, and knew that they were getting close to Magus.

"We're almost there, Chrono!" said Marle, swatting away a bat. "I can FEEL it!"

Frog croaked and said "Aye, me too. Cyrus shall finally be avenged!"

Chrono just kept on running. He had to keep a clear mind. Magus was up ahead, and if they destroyed him, their quest would hopefully come to an end.

The trio reached the bottom of the stairs, and entered the darkness.

Magus finished the first part of his spell, and looked at Darcy. She could barely be seen beneath the brilliant, magical glow. He shook his head, and began the next step of the spell. Magus was confident that he would succeed, but that confidence was mixed with bitter sadness. Essentially, he was using Darcy as bait. If Lavos didn't kill her, the ensuing battle would. She would die. He tried to convince himself that she might survive...that she would have enough strength left to flee...that there was hope. But he knew that he was lying to himself. He loved her... but he would not let love stand in the way of his revenge. He only hoped that she would understand, and forgive him... He finished the second part. The glow around Darcy faded, and she collapsed in a heap. Her pendant fell from her limp hands, and clattered to the floor. "Now for the end..." said Magus to himself. He had Lavos's attention. Now to bring it here. He started chanting, not noticing a party of three people entering the room...

Darcy's eyes flew open. She someone cry out in pain...Magus! She would have recognized that sound anywhere, anytime! She looked up from where she was sprawled outside of the circle to see what was wrong. Magus was crouched on the floor, bleeding heavily from a gash in his left side. He had his cape held over it, in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. The three people whom she had seen outside the castle earlier were surrounding him, their weapons drawn. The frog had an especially nasty look on his face. The sword that he held was positioned that the next blow would split Magus in two. She looked closer at the red haired kid. He looked familiar... almost like her! Was this one of her ancestors? She was going to find out. Magus needed help, and she had questions for the carrot top.

Darcy tried to stand, but couldn't. Her entire body felt like it was made of lead. But she had to do something. With all her strength, she managed to lift herself up to a kneeling position. She raised her head in time to see the frog lift his blade. She cried out "MAGUS!!!!!" at the top of her lungs, but it was silenced by a loud rumble that filled the room. The candles in back of her began to warp and twist unnaturally. Magus whirled around, and said "Bad timing... Don't wake up on me now..."

The third member of the party, a girl with a blond ponytail, said "What do you mean?! Didn't you CREATE him?!"

Clutching his side, Magus returned "You fools! I only 'Summoned' him! He lives in the inner earth, absorbing the land's power, and growing ever stronger!"

Darcy stood up, and grasped her book bag. She was going to protect Magus, at any cost. She dashed toward Magus, but a huge wave of energy knocked her off her feet.

The frog croaked "What's going on?!"

In terror, the blond girl shouted "A gate!! It's huge!!!"

Magus fumed "YOU! If you hadn't shown up...!" Then, his side causing him too much pain, he fell to his knees.

Darcy fell just a few feet away from Magus. In desperation, she called out his name as loud as she could. He turned his head, and looked directly at her. He reached for her, and another wave caused him to fall away from her. Darcy managed to grab hold of his hand just before a final wave of energy surged through the room, and a huge blue portal opened. It was like the first one, but much bigger, and much more chaotic. It sucked in everyone in the room, and hurled them in separate directions through time.

Darcy couldn't see the three people anymore. As long as they were somewhere that she wasn't., she was happy. But Darcy had other things to worry about, like where would she and Magus end up? And could they both hold on? She was still latched to Magus's hand, holding on for dear life. He was trying to get a better grip on her, but the wound in his side kept him from fully extending his left arm. And the two of them were quickly losing their grip. Darcy held on as well as she could, but Magus's glove was coming off. "Just...hold on a bit longer!" shouted Magus, squeezing tighter on Darcy's hands.

"I'm trying!" answered Darcy. "I won't let go!!!" And it was true. She didn't let go. Magus's glove slipped off.

They weren't separated immediately. The two hovered next to each other for a few brief moments, then were ripped appart. The last thing she heard before losing sight of Magus was "...DARCY!!"

(A/N: I know... It's short compared to my other chapters... :) oh well. Only 2 more chapters left of this story. Thanks for the reviews!)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Darcy landed butt-first in a grassy field. Magus's glove was still clenched tightly in her hand. She just stared at it in shock. "No...noooo!" she sobbed to herself quietly. "He was actually...he's the only one...". A few tears ran down her face. She looked down at the glove. Her last connection with Magus, along with his cape. She closed her eyes and thought about him... Such a sweet smile, when he actually used it. The softest hair she had ever known. Such concern for her... He could be so kind... and so gentle... And such sweet kisses. Darcy couldn't hold it in anymore. She started to bawl. Eventually the tears ran dry, and she felt like an idiot. Here she was, sitting in a field, wallowing in self-pity, and hugging a dirty old glove. This isn't how she should act! What good would it do to cry? "SHIT!! I can't just sit here!" yelled Darcy. She was tired of quietly watching what went on around her. Darcy was going to take some action. But first, she had to find out where she was.

Standing up and looking around, she saw that she was back in her own time, a few minutes after she had left! Lavos was just a few feet away behind her! She was so busy crying, she hadn't noticed! But everything was as she had left it, except that there was now a big hole in Lavos's shell. Should she go inside?

Darcy thought for a bit. Personally, she would never wasn't to be in the same zip code as that thing. But, she remembered what Magus had told her, during his little sob-fest. "It... that is , Lavos, is... is slowly eating away at our planet... Eventually, it will destroy it." Destroy...destroy everyone and everything she knew. It was happening now. Mom. Dad. Thomas... not that much of a loss, really, but it's the principal... She was pissed off at Lavos. Indirectly, it had screwed up her life. If it wasn't for Lavos sending Magus to another time, she could have just lived her life... but Lavos was going to destroy the world, anyways. She couldn't win. Darcy flung her book bag over her shoulder, and ran towards the shell. She would defeat Lavos, or die trying. She had left the pendant back in the year 600, but she would somehow manage without it. Darcy was determined. She'd do it for her family. For the world. For Magus.

Jumping down into the hole was the hardest part. Darcy was afraid that she would break an arm, or leg, or some other vital part. She put her hand on the rim of the hole to brace herself, but quickly drew it back in disgust. It was slimy and pulsing! Eeeewwww! She started to dig in her book bag for something to wipe her hand off with. She found her science textbook, a poyozo doll, a one-time use camera, a tube of lip balm, 6 chewed-on pencils and an eraser, and Magus's cape. Darcy debated between the poyozo and the cape. Wiping her hand off, an idea came to her: Why not use the cape as a parachute? She put it on, then, since it was so long on her, tied the ends to her ankles. She stretched out her arms, and took a flying leap into the hole. Then, for safety's sake, she cast a quick wind spell to slow her decent. Darcy made a soft landing at the bottom of the shell.

As she removed the cape from her ankles, she was sure that she heard sounds of a battle. She stopped to listen. Metal slicing, flesh being fried, and garbed voices could be heard. "A fight. Definitely a fight." said Darcy to herself. "Guess someone beat me to Lavos." thought Darcy "But they'll need help." Without bothering to take off the cape, she followed the sound...

The first thing that struck Darcy as she entered the core was the sheer size and ugliness of it. It was an immense, alien being that made a deep hissing noise with each breath it took. It appeared to one have had arms, but they had been destroyed by someone. And that was the second thing that struck her. The people who were battling Lavos. The red haired boy she had seen before, the blond girl with a ponytail, and Magus! Darcy almost ran into his arms, but Lavos attacked the party with a flaming lazer blast before she could. Everyone, including Darcy, was stunned by it. She was about ready to deal a returning blow, but the red head and blondie beat her to it.

"Ready Chrono?" asked the girl.

The red head, Chrono nodded and replied "Anytime, Marle." He raised his sword, and lunged at Lavos. While in mid-air, Marle stretched out her arms, and cast some kind of spell on Chrono's sword and froze it while he attacked. The moment after Chrono retreated, Lavos let out a blood-curdling scream, and appeared to be defeated. But it was not as it seemed.

(A/N: One chapter down... One to go. You'll all be surprized at how all this ends! Tune in next time.)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The Final Chapter

The outer form dissolved, to reveal the true form. It was a creature in a space-like suit, about twice Darcy's size, with gangly arms and legs. Darcy almost thought that it looked pretty wimpy, but it still made those awful hissing, rasping noises. And the face through the helmet...like out of hell. She was scared. More scared than she had ever been before, even talking into account all the times in 600 AD. Her heart felt like it would fly out of her chest, and she was breathing so hard she couldn't hear anything the three others were saying. Darcy sank to her knees, and cowered in fear. The most she could manage was to watch the battle.

Lavos created two pods, and commenced the attack on Chrono, Marle, and Magus. The pods started by both slamming into Chrono, knocking him on his butt. He stumbled to his feet, and slashed at the thing in the space suit. It had obviously taken some damage, but it didn't seem to care. It pointed it's clawed hand at Chrono, and fried him with a bolt of energy. Chrono fell to his knees in pain.

Magus took his turn. He moved his hands in a complicated sequence, and cast a DarkMatter spell. The pod on the right and Lavos, in the center, both made sounds to indicate that they were in pain, but the pod on the left didn't react. Lavos, in the center, raised it's arms and made a series of gargling noises. A HUGE rock formed above their heads, and smashed into them. Chrono keeled over, knocked out.

Marle didn't look too good, but she was still fighting. She placed both her hands together, as if praying, and smacked Lavos and the pods with a big block of ice. It didn't have much of an effect. Lavos just counter attacked by clawing Marle. She fell over, barely conscious. Then, it went after Magus. Lavos zapped him with a bolt like the one Chrono took. Magus nearly passed out. But he wasn't going down yet. Gripping his scythe tightly, he charged at the pod on the left. He slashed at it twice, then fell over. The exertion was too much for him.

They were in trouble. Darcy knew they weren't going to be able to defeat Lavos without her help. She reached into her book bag, and took out her science textbook. It was 1637 pages long, and hardcover, so if connected with Lavos it would probably do some damage. Or maybe not... But it was worth a shot, and she didn't like science very much. She swung back, and drifted it at Lavos with all her strength. It smacked Lavos full on in the head, but it didn't do much more than get its attention. Lavos turned to face her, Darcy made a little squeaking noise. She was in for it. Lavos clawed at her like it did Marle, but Darcy dodged the attack. As she did, she stretched out her hands, and cast a wind spell. Lavos fell over, and that gave Darcy a little time to thing of a plan. The pod on the left seemed to be the weakest, so it would be her first target. She removed her book bag, and held it in her hands, then, screaming at the top of her lungs "DIE!!!", she beat the pod over and over with it. It quivered, then died, like it was deflating. "I...I did it!... Holy shit!" Darcy said to herself in surprise. She just stood there, unaware that Lavos was planning a counter atatck.

Marle raised her head, and looked at Darcy. She was still wearing the cape, so Marle thought it was Magus. Her vision was too blurry to tell. "I gotta help..." Marle thought to herself. She took a full tonic out of one of her pouched, and used it. Feeling much better, she stood up, and prepared to cast another ice spell. But there was something strange going on. If Chrono was unconscious, and Magus was bent over trying to catch his breath, who the HELL was the cape beating up on the pod? Marle said to her "Who're you?!?!"

Darcy opened her mouth to say "Does it really matter?" but a bolt of energy struck her before she could say it. Then, before she could react, it clawed her. She collapsed next to Magus.

Magus hadn't been paying much attention to the battle. But the moment Darcy came into view, he snapped back to reality. He didn't have a clue what was going on, or why Darcy was there, and that only sparked his interest. His throat was too fry to allow him to speak, so all he could do was watch. But then Darcy toppled over next to him after taking the hits from Lavos. She was kneeling there, whimpering. He saw Lavos preparing to blast her again, and he shielded her with his body. It hit him right in the chest. Magus cried out in agony, but managed to say weakly ""Darcy...my love...I'm sorry...". He knew that this would be the end for all of them. He had failed. They all had. He gave Darcy a long look, and touched her cheek, at least he had the comfort of seeing her one final time before he departed. Then he shuddered, and slumped over, as if dead.

Darcy was badly injured. But she shakily turned to look at Magus. She placed her hand on his cheek, but drew it back immediately. His flesh was cold. And he was barely breathing. "...Magus! No! Don't die!! I'll kill you if you do!! You can't!!" she said, tears streaming down her face. She whimpered, and looked at Lavos. "You...it's all your fault!!! You ruined my...his...everyone's life!!!! YOU'LL PAY!!! I'M GONNA BEAT YOUR ASS!!!" she shouted, the rage growing inside of her. Stumbling to her feet, Darcy extended her arms, and shouted "LUMINARE!!!". Just as before, thin rays of light gathered, and exploded in a burst of purifying energy. Then she did it again, before Lavos could retaliate. Then, she did it again. And again. Darcy wanted revenge, at any cost. She didn't care about life after this. What life COULD she have after this? She couldn't live without Magus. She cast the spell a fifth time, and Lavos simply dissolved into dust. Darcy let out a deep, quivering breath, and fell to her knees. Placing a hand on Magus's chest, she mumbled "I did it Magus... I did it... You've been avenged..." she looked at Magus's still form one final time. He was gone. "I'll...I'll join you soon, Magus..." she muttered. She closed her eyes. It was the last thing she ever did.

The other two saw the whole thing. Marle had revived Chrono just as Magus lost consciousness. Neither of them understood what was going on, but they watched and listened, trying to. The only words they exchanged throughout the whole thing were "...Who is she?". Then, after Darcy dealt the final blow to Lavos, the shell and everything else around them dissolved in a burst of light. They were left in a field, with Darcy's body slumped over Magus.

Marle walked over to them, and felt for a pulse on Darcy's neck. There was none. "...She's dead." she said dully to Chrono.

Chrono walked over as well. Throughout the whole battle, he had never gotten a good look at Darcy. He did now, and received a shock. "She looks like...like me!" he said, astonished.

Looking first at Darcy, then at Chrono, Marle said "She must be your descendant."

"But... she seemed to know Magus... kinda well." said Chrono. He noticed the passion between Darcy and Magus, and almost felt sick for a second. Magus was his absolute LEAST favorite person in the world. Putting it out of his mind, he said "Maybe she's one of my ancestors..."

Marle thought for a moment, and then said "No. If she was, you wouldn't be here... I think." She was just as confused as ever.

Chrono looked again at Darcy, and said "Guess we'll never know for sure."

They heard a moan. It was Magus. He wasn't dead, after all. Just half dead. He sat up, then noticed Darcy's body lying across him. "Darcy...?" he said, his mind addled. He touched her cheek. no response.

Marle, a little surprised, said "Magus... She... Darcy's gone."

It wasn't news to him. Even as dazed as he was, he understood that. Yet, his face remained the same, even though his heart had ripped itself in half. He had spent years masking his emotions, and was simply too used to it to change now. Magus simply said "I know."

Chrono, however, took this to mean that he didn't care. "What?! How can you be like that?!" he shouted at Magus. "Me and Marle BOTH saw how she acted when we thought you were dead!! She loves you!!!"

With all his strength, Magus turned his head towards Chrono. "I care, boy... You wouldn't know... how much." he hissed. His shell of coldness almost breaking, he said "... I loved her."

Trying to both calm and comfort him, Marle said to Magus "It's alright... She didn't die in vain. Lavos is destroyed. She killed it."

You would think that would have been of comfort to Magus. He simply closed his eyes, and said "...Good." Then he was quiet for a long while. "No loose ends, then." With what strength he had, Magus took a small vial out of a pouch.

Marle blinked. Curious, she asked "What...what's that?"

"Poison." Magus stated. He then removed the stopper, and raised it to his lips.

Always the hero, Chrono seized Magus's wrist, and said "You're going to kill yourself? Are you crazier that I think you are?"

His red eyes almost glowing, Magus hissed "This is my decision. Don't... don't tell me not to do it, because things can get better. I've lived...28 years, and I know that they won't." Ripping his hand away from Chrono, and spilling some of the vial's contents, he continued "Nothing I've ever done had t...turned out for good in my life. Nothing. I thought that when I found Darcy, this was the one sure thing. That was...ruined as well." Then, with a bitter smirk, he said "This world will be better without... without me and my evil. I'm dying anyway. Just think of this...as speeding up the process." And before either one of them could stop them, he drank the contents of the vial. Shutting his eyes, he said softly "If there is...any justice, I...I will be with...her soon..." He made a choking sound, and slumped over.

"Oh my God...Chrono, he did it!" said Marle, sinking to her knees, utterly shocked.

"...Like he said, it was his decision." said Chrono. Marle looked at him in shock. He continued "Although I know it was the wrong one."

Always concerned, Marle said "We have to do something with their bodies. We'll take them with us for burial."

"No..." Chrono said thinking.  
Marle was disgusted at Chrono. "What?! just because you don't LIKE Magus very much is no reason not to bury him!!!"

Chrono shook his head. "That's not it." he said. "I don't know where he would want to be buried! The Middle Ages, or 12000BC, or somewhere else!" The with a sigh, he said "And we don't know where... Darcy even comes from..."

"Alright, Chrono. But we have to do something with them." said Marle. An idea came to her. She took out a pencil, and a sheet of paper, and quickly wrote down a note.

Chrono inspected it. "Good idea. They would probably want it this way."

They placed it next to Darcy and Magus's bodies, and left through the gate.

Later, their two bodies were discovered in the field by the crews sent to investigate the site of the eruption. Magus was found embracing Darcy, and the note was next to them. It read as follows:

**_To the finder of this note:_**

_**These two people died in the fight to destroy the creature that erupted from the ground. Lavos. They gave their lives to save millions, present and future. We were with them, but unable to tend to the bodies. Please give them both proper burials. The man's name is (Magus was written here, but scratched out.) Janus. The girl's name is Darcy.**_

_**Thank You.**_

The End.

(A/N: I am proud of how the story turned out. I hope those who continued reading this story is pleased at how I finished it. Please give me your thoughts, and thank you for making it this far! Allysien.)


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